Here Comes The Nervous Bride
I bought a wedding dress last week.
It was a lot easier than I expected actually; for a start, I knew what I wanted and that tends to help quite a lot. I wanted something lacy, not too poofy (so A-line, so-called after the letter itself) and preferably with a sweetheart neckline (named because it looks like the top part of a heart. A drawn heart, not an anatomically correct one).
The other criterion was not spending too much. I’ve probably mentioned it before, but Mr Alena-to-be and I have a tiny budget and besides, my mum was paying for it and she was adamant that we wouldn’t spend too much.
I must be growing up or something but I was coming around to her point of view and finding it hard to justify the price of a wedding dress. I have no problem with blowing most of my wages on, say, a leather jacket or a wool coat because they are investment pieces; when you spend a large amount of money on something like that, you ensure that it will last for ages and the price works out quite cheap because of how long you wear it for. A wedding dress has no such thing going for it because even if things don’t go to plan and you end up getting divorced, it’s not like you’re going to want to wear the same one the next time!
Therefore, if your budget is a bit tight, a sample dress is a great idea. I picked out a size 12 dress that is still being altered to fit my size but rather than having to order it in, it’s exactly the one that I tried on and although there are certain difficulties associated with that (such as having to be within the standard size range and maybe having to shell out for dry-cleaning), it’s a great way to save money compared to having a brand-new one made for you or your bride-to-be (depending on who’s reading this) as you can save up to half the price. Some shops even hold sample sales of last-season dresses and with the huge range of styles on offer, there’s guaranteed to be something to everyone’s taste.
As for me, standing in front of the mirror in the floaty, lacy, sweetheart-necked creation made it hit home that in nine months I’ll be wearing it down the aisle in front of a bunch of people and being very much the centre of attention. It’s a tad nerve-wracking as opposed to just exciting but hopefully I’ll cope!
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